Several reports have come in about suspicious door-to-door salespeople knocking on doors well into the evenings, and appearing to want entrance into homes.
Here's what a few people have observed:
Yesterday at about 5:30-6ish my roommate was home alone when a man and
woman came to the door asking if they could clean our home for free.
They claimed to be opening a new business in the area and were giving
away 50 home cleanings and wanted to look at our wood floors and
carpets. They had a clipboard, offered no ID. My roommate of course
said "No thanks" and closed the door. Just a really frightening
experience, I was not sure who to report this too- wasn't sure if it
was legit or not- just creepy-
And...
A young woman came to my house also yesterday, around 5:30-6:00, and
there was a guy lurking at the end of our driveway who appeared to be
with her. It just didn't feel right, especially after I told her no
and she demanded, "Why not?'" And then "Why won't you help us out?"
She practically pushed past me trying to peer into our house. She,
too, asked for the bookmark/advertisement back.
And...
I too had a creepy visitor last night at about 8:00pm. This guy
appeared to be alone and claimed he was from Kirby (the vacuum
cleaner people) and wanted to offer me an amazing opportunity to have
three rooms of carpets cleaned. No ID, no Kirby uniform, no Kirby
truck in the background, one battered bookmark (which he probably
printed on his computer) listing their "services." I looked at it,
said no thanks, and was about to shut the door when he asked me to
give him the bookmark thing back! Apparently he had only one. Then
he went to my next-door neighbor; same thing. Both of us felt uneasy
about the guy. They could be casing the joints, for all I know. Be
careful!
Door-to-door sales are very unusual these days, and most salespeople coming to your home do so only by appointment.
Do not allow door-to-door peddlers into your house, and report any suspicious activity to the Middletown Police Department.
Update from my roommate:
ReplyDeleteBoth were young early twenties.
Guy ,non caucasian, had black short hair with stubble. Woman was caucasian, with brownish red wavy hair.
madamnirvana
Thank you so much Ed for publishing this,
ReplyDeleteI tried to talk to the police yesterday about it but they needed more than one report it seemed. Thank you!
madamnirvana
I had a young man, perhaps in his early thirties, come to my door offering free cleaning services. He was holding a used looking bookmark as well. I said I wasn't interested and wished him best of luck in his ventures.
ReplyDeleteEd brings up a great point regarding door to door salespeople...they are very unusual these days.
Also, regarding experience of the person who had this to say about it:
"It just didn't feel right, especially after I told her no
and she demanded, "Why not?'" And then "Why won't you help us out?"
She practically pushed past me trying to peer into our house. She,
too, asked for the bookmark/advertisement back."
A few things odd about this. The assertiveness bordering on aggression is not exactly the impression a professional salesperson would want to impress upon a potential customer.
And the "why won't you help us?" bit...how is it of any "help" to these folks when they offering FREE cleaning services?
I called the MPD to report my experience and this is what I was told:
"Door to door selling is not illegal. We cannot document it if it is not illegal."
Great. Thanks
MadamNirvana reports that the police need 'more than one report' -- before taking action, presumably. 'Bike Lady' reports that the police cannot document the incident because it involves 'door to door selling' which is not illegal.
ReplyDeletePutting 2 and 2 together (as in 'Catch 22'), might we then conclude that the calls by Bike Lady and MadamNirvana reporting this activity have not been documented? And that if these (and other likely) reports have not been documented, is it possible that the police department is not aware that more than one report has been made?
Where is Joseph Heller when you need him? More pressingly, what is the average Jo/Joe supposed to do when s/he witnesses extremely suspicious behavior that is not, technically speaking, illegal? Are we to conclude that the police department would rather not be informed?
Vijay Pinch
I had a similar experience and agree it seemed very sketchy - the "free floor cleaning" people stopped by the day after Thanksgiving. A woman approached while the man lurked at the sidewalk. And they took their battered coupon back before leaving. - Karen
ReplyDeleteI had the same experience three or four days ago. A woman with short wavy brown/red hair was persistent on coming in my house, handing me a bottle of dawn claiming that the gift was for a good person, then asked if I was a good person... sketchy! There was a guy in a van too. I live in S.C. and I have a friend in T.N. that had the same people at his house just before thanksgiving, just too weird, had to post...
ReplyDelete